Because I know you're interested . . .

I think I should report on how Daylight Savings Time went, since I made such a big deal of it a while ago. It wasn't horrible. We have church at 12:30, so I didn't really feel like I was getting up much earlier. Sam sure felt it though: we were up late the night before and then he had a church meeting bright and early the next morning. Actually, I don't know if it was the Daylight Saving Time that did him in-- he's always tired and a little (or a lot) grumpy when he wakes up. (Oh I'm sure he loves that I'm publishing that on our blog.) The rest of the week wasn't so bad. On Monday, after DST, everyone in my office was late to work, so I didn't feel so bad about being late. I think I'm still getting used to the time change. One thing I read said that some people can take up to six weeks or even more to fully adjust. But I do love, love, LOVE the longer days. They make me so happy. Now, if only it weren't gloomy and snowy today.

On the pregnancy front, I have started my weekly doctor visits, which means I really am on the home stretch! We are getting very excited. We are going to be moving to a two-bedroom apartment at the end of April, one week after the baby is due. Yes, we are crazy. We are only moving about a block away from our current apartment. We just realized that we really would be crazy to try and stay in our current apartment with a baby-- there's just not enough room. So, we will try to have everything packed before my due date and just see what happens. Lucky Sam. He knows he's going to be the one doing all work. What a champ. On that note, anyone who will be in Provo on April 26th is more than welcome to help us move!

I promise I took American Heritage!

I saw a link to this article on my friend Alicia's blog. It talks about a study done where they asked 556 seniors at 55 leading colleges and universities 34 questions about U.S. history. Only one of the students answered every question correctly, and the average score was 53%. At first I thought it was ridiculous . . . until I took the quiz. Let me just tell you, I am not even going to let my score be known publicly. I am horrified at how poorly I did!
So, go read the article (it's short) and then you can take the quiz at the end. I hope you fare better than I did! I shouldn't be allowed to call myself an American.

Twice!

I got tagged again, and since I didn't have anything new to write, I thought I would do this one too. Oh how exciting!


1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00
3. What was the last film you saw at the theater? Sam took me to see Definitely, Maybe on Valentines Day. We don't recommend it. It was stupid. But we are going to see Enchanted tonight at the dollar theater!
4. What is your favorite TV show? I don't watch a lot of tv lately, but I would probably say Friends or The Office.
7. What food do you dislike? canned vegetables and cooked fruit
11. What characteristic do you despise? pretention
17. Favorite sport to watch? I think I actually enjoy watching college football with Sam.
19. Are you a morning person or a night person? I just realized that I am not a morning person. I am not the best night person either, so really, I am a day person.
20. What is your shoe size? 6
23. What did you want to be when you were little? an artist-- I wanted to wear a beret.
25. What is your favorite candy? Milky Way
26. What is your favorite flower? calla lilies
33. Favorite soft drink? Shirley Temple
34. Favorite food? Massaman curry
35 . What was your favorite toy as a child? I'm not really sure. I know I loved dress-ups and I thought Barbies were ok. I don't really know what I played with. Probably whatever left over toys my brother left out for me.
36. Summer or winter? Definitely, definitely summer.
42 . What did you do last night? I dozed off on the couch, but was awakened by a phone call from my mom. I drank orange juice and ate cheese for dinner. I picked up bread, eggs, and milk from the grocery store. I picked up Sam from work and then went to bed. Thrilling, I know.
43 . What are you afraid of? Having a baby!
45 . How many keys on your keyring? 5
46 . How many years at your current job? almost 6 months (and only 4 1/2 weeks left!!!!!!)
48 . How many towns have you lived in? Seattle, Denver, London, Salt Lake, Provo -- 5

I'd like to point out that these questions are numbered, but it seems that someone who did it before me got bored or something and cut out a lot of questions. I'm glad I didn't really have to answer 48!

I've BeenTagged!

Thanks for tagging me Maranda, now I can spice up my blog a little bit (instead of the usual post that says our lives are pretty uneventful, but look at pictures of us anyway).

1. Two Names You Go By:
Cookie (by Sam)
Gerta (by my family, mostly my dad and my brother)

2. Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
Comfy, comfy J. Crew pajamas
A very old white shirt I got when I was a senior in high school. It is also about 10 sizes too small for my 7.5-months-pregnant body. Oh well. I'm comfy.

3. Two of Your Favorite Things to Do:
Eat ice cream
Try new recipes for cookies, Thai food, Indian food, cakes-- well, I guess just try new recipes!

4. Two Things You Want Very Badly at the Moment:
The Adventures of Food Boy to sell so we can move to Virginia in June
The baby to keep growing and be healthy (and to stop getting up under my ribs)

5. Two Favorite Pets You Have or Have Had:
Buck, my golden retriever, was the world's best pet. We got him when I was 3 and he died when I was 14. No other pet can compare to Buck, which is why I don't like any other animals. It's true. I don't like animals, and I never want to have another pet.

6. Two Things You Ate Today:
Oatmeal
A glass of milk (I just had breakfast, so my options of answers for this question are limited)

7. Two People You Last Talked To:
Sam
Ashley

8. Two Things You Are Doing Tomorrow:
Going to church
Probably making cookies-- since I can't seem to go a day without eating them

9. Two Longest Car Rides
Mesa to Provo. You wouldn't think it was so long, but we missed the turn onto the freeway and extended the drive by like three hours.
St. George to Denver. There was some bad accident and a really bad storm, so we were stuck in stopped traffic on the road in Nowhere, Colorado for hours. I was grumpy.
OK, I know none of these are that impressive, but I HATE long car rides. I refuse to take road trips if they exceed 8 hours (10 for VERY special occasions).

Well, that was fun! So, now I tag Jen (or Matt) and Jenna. And anyone else who wants to do it.

Six weeks and counting (no, not until the baby)

It's Tuesday which means I don't have much to do. I really should put off blogging until later in the afternoon. Let's face it: when it's 9:07 am and I am already blogging, that means it is going to be a looooooong day. On Tuesdays, I work in our upstairs office, which means I don't have the welcome distraction of talking to my work friends. I actually feel like I should be doing more, but I'm not sure what that more would be. Oh well. For now, I am perfectly content to just sit here and look pretty. Speaking of work, I only have SIX weeks of work left (from tomorrow). I will be working until April 9, at which point I will QUIT and just get ready for the impending family addition. You can also note that I picked the date carefully-- it is the day before my birthday. I was quick to realize I would not want to work on my birthday. So what better birthday present than to quit the day before? 

To all those who were concerned about my stroller strife, I picked out a stroller! My mom had a baby shower for me with all my extended family this weekend, and my parents bought my car seat and stroller. So I posed with my mom and the stroller for a picture:

The stroller and car seat in all their glory (I love them!):

Here I am with my last Utah-residing sibling, Lindsay.

Lastly, my dad caught the horrible flu that is attacking the country. He wasn't up for taking pictures, so I just stood by him for a picture. It really shows off my gloriously girnormous belly (p.s. I don't know why the bottom of the picture got cropped in some weird circular shape).

Speaking of the flu, Sam had it last week! He says he has never been that sick. He basically stayed in bed all week. He tried to venture out to work (he has a new job at Best Buy!) twice, but sorely regretted it after. Luckily he made the turn around on Saturday, after an entire week of being ill. Luckily I didn't catch it-- thanks to the flu shot. I hope not too many of you have had it! If so, may you recover quickly.  

Some Pictures!

Sam finished directing Lair Lords. I came to set on the last day and captured him in action. Here he is walking around the set and planning out some shots. He had such a great time, but I am so glad it's over! 

This picture is at my 29 week mark. 

Sam worked custodial at the BYU bookstore for about two weeks (it was at 4 am, and he got sick of that pretty quick) and he used his handy discount to purchase this onesie for the baby. 

I thought it was pretty cute, so we hung it up in our closet.

In order to help with my gestational diabetes, Sam and I have started going walking on BYU's indoor track three times a week. We walk at least a mile, and sometimes we jog a bit. It feels great to be active! I always see people I know they always tell me they are impressed that I

 am out exercising when I am so pregnant. That also makes me feel great. So, on our way out the door to go walking, I am 30 weeks in this picture. 

To Mothers (or stroller experts) Everywhere

I am starting into some research on strollers, car seats, and travel systems. I would appreciate any motherly and/or womanly advice you can give me on what you think a good travel system makes. I have no idea where to start! Please feel free to recommend or discourage specific brands (but only if you can back up your assertions with evidence). If you have time, I would love to know what brand and style you have, what you like, what you don't like, and what you would do differently if you were starting over with child #1.

Please help out this desperate, naive mother-to-be.